MOMBOURQUETTE: Visions of sugarplums dance in their heads ...

It’s been a year of change in Halifax Regional Municipality. We have a new mayor and several new municipal councillors. Construction has begun on the central library in downtown Halifax and there appears to be some moving around of dirt at the site that is to be the convention centre.

At the same time, we continue to struggle with an inadequate and poorly visioned public transit system that poses an apparently insurmountable stumbling block to creating a healthy balance between urban and suburban development.

And you know what a new year means. It’s time to talk about our hopes and dreams for the year to come. Last week, I shared some fond Christmas memories that the mayor and several councillors had been kind enough to offer up for readers of The Community Herald.

This week, I have their responses to this question: “What is your hope for the new year in HRM?” The replies were reflective, sincere and optimistic — and occasionally, of course, bureaucratic. You can take the councillor out of the council chambers, after all ....

Bill Karsten, District 3: “My hope is that regional council continues with the spirit of mutual respect, understanding and compromise so that much can be accomplished for our communities and the entire HRM.”

Lorelei Nicoll, District 4: “My hope for the new year in HRM would be for a prosperous future realized through strategic growth.”

Gloria McCluskey, District 5:“My hopes for HRM in 2013 are that we will be fiscally responsible and come in with a budget that will make it possible for us to reduce the tax rates. Also, that council will work together for the good of the whole of HRM; to have more consultation with the general public and to consider their input; to have a much improved transit system with a full ferry service; and to be able to say at the end of 2013, ‘We have really accomplished many things this year.’”

Waye Mason, District 7:“I was elected in October and both during the campaign and since, I have learned a tremendous amount about the plans, challenges and opportunities for Halifax. I hope that in 2013 I will be able to spread that excitement, enthusiasm and hope for our collective future, while demonstrating council’s role in this future, by taking concrete steps toward making this one of the most interesting, livable, progressive cities in the world.”

Jennifer Watts, District 8: “My hope for the new year: more bike lanes, reliable transit, pedestrian safety measures — and especially, more mutual respect on the part of drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.”

Matt Whitman, District 13: “My New Year’s hope is that every person will feel love and acceptance and purpose this year, and that we will look out for one another, focus on others and ‘do unto others.’ Happy 2013!”

Steve Craig, District 15: “I hope that we all seek out the best in one another and that we are at peace with ourselves.”

Mayor Mike Savage:“My hope is for continued collegial teamwork with my dedicated council colleagues, strong economic growth for Halifax, health and happiness for family and friends, more arts, less poverty and a Memorial Cup.”

Those things all sound good to me — even though I’m admittedly a little “meh” on whole hockey supremacy thing. But nonetheless, let’s resolve to make those hopes and dreams a reality in 2013 — and to make HRM the city (OK, regional municipality) that it absolutely has the potential to be.